The japanese were hoping for someone who would even up the scales a little bit in terms of its negotiating power against the west. The amount of diplomatic flexibility they are going to have after signing this agreement with notse germany is severely limited compared to what it was before. They weren't ready for this fact that they were going to be lumped in now withp e, who had some of the worst press you can get in the western democracies.
Deep themes run through this show, with allegations of Japanese war crimes and atrocities in China at the start leading to eerily familiar, almost modern questions over how the world should respond. And then Dec 7, 1941 arrives...